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Sandy beaches in Thessaloniki
5 beaches in Thessaloniki with sand underfoot. Re-ranked live, so the one with the flattest sea today comes first.
These are the beaches on Thessaloniki tagged as sand on the map: soft underfoot and easier for children and bare feet than pebbles. Sand says nothing about the sea, so the live ranking checks today's wind for each of them.
All 5 sandy beaches on Thessaloniki
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Meltemi shelter (0–100) | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paralia Neas Michanionas | west | Sand | 95 | 11 bar or café | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Potamos | south | Sand | 95 | 33 bars and cafés | |||||
| Serraiki Akti | south-east | Sand | 77 | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| paralia Neon Vrasnon | east | Sand | 48 | 1010 bars and cafés | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Beach resort | ||
| Paralia Peraias | north-west | Sand | 45 | 1414 bars and cafés | 2020 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
Thessaloniki: how busy is it, month by month
Thessaloniki is busiest in August. In May and October there are about half as many visitors, or fewer. For a flat sea and fewer people, the best months are June and July.
Visitor levels are nights spent in tourist accommodation in the Central Macedonia region (Eurostat, average of 2023–2025), compared with its busiest month. They show when the area is busy, not how many people are on a given beach.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the sandy beaches in Thessaloniki?
5 of the 17 mapped beaches on Thessaloniki are tagged as sand, for example Paralia Neas Michanionas, Potamos, and Serraiki Akti. The ones best sheltered from the meltemi are listed first.
Is a sandy beach also a sheltered beach?
Not necessarily. Sand tells you what is underfoot, not what the sea does. A long open sandy bay can have waves when the wind blows onshore. The live ranking above shows which sandy beaches are flat right now.
How do you know which beaches are sheltered?
For every beach we measured how much open sea lies in each of 16 compass directions, using OpenStreetMap coastlines. Waves build over open water, so a beach with land close by in the direction the wind comes from is sheltered. Today's wind forecast from MET Norway is then applied, and the result is refreshed every 2 hours.
Are the forecasts reliable?
They are estimates. The model does not include swell from distant storms, and local gusts can be stronger than forecast. Always follow lifeguard flags and local warnings.